In the self-proclaimed ‘arse end of England’ there is a tavern in the village of Gotham (pronounced Go-tham, not Batman’s Gotham). Picture yourself in ye olden times of 1206, ruled by the King, the mystical wonder of knights and the clinking of mead in tankards. Lose yourself in an era where the lute and the medieval fiddle, the vielle, play in harmony with the gentle beat of the tabor and tambourine.
This is where A Kingdom of Fools, a one act comedic farce, directed and written by Ryan Atkins, begins with a burst of excitement. The tavern owner Mildreth (Meredith Welch) commands her workers, chef Simple Thomas (Alex Hutchison-Smith) and tavern wench Ethelfleda (Nala Davies) to prepare for the arrival oenf a knight, Sir Guy Ashcombe (Brendan Atkins) and nobleman Sir William Drakeford (Yarno Rohling). To present their best face in tavern hospitality, the tavern is rushed to be cleaned. The chamber pot “near to overflowing” is brought out ready to empty, a fixing of the floor near the door is attempted, Ethel practices her best bosomy sexy postures in the hope of snagging the knight, the welcome horn and the pouch of rose petals are at the ready. All these make their way back into the story later, serving as the accomplices to some hilariously comedic scenes.
Whilst waiting for the noblemen, Gerd (Lachlan Atkins) a sweet and simple miller, and Alfric (Ryan Atkins), a man with his head and both hands enclosed in long wooden pillory arrive. Ryan’s Alfric unknowingly slams the wood into two characters, causing one to tumble outside and Gerd to become a temporary wall decoration which was one of my favourite scenes. It is difficult to describe this scene without giving away spoilers, but I’ll just say that it was so well timed and had the audience laughing and wondering how the set would recover.
Sir Ashcombe and Sir Drakeford also made a memorable entrance onto the stage. Sir Ashcombe tripped over and fell onto his back. Brendan’s portrayal of the knight, scrambling furiously and failing several times to get up off the ground because of the heavy armour was played to perfection, and reminded me of a cockroach with legs running askew!
The knight and the nobleman were at the inn to announce that King John was seizing it for himself. Everything, he says – including the tavern and the people, the animals and the flowers in the fields. The villagers are outraged at this greed, with Meredith’s Mildreth shooting the darkest and murderous looks at Sir Drakeford. Thus begins an outrageous plan of rebellion to convince the noblemen to leave and never return. Father Godric (Arnold Walsh) is brought in by the noblemen in attempt to temper the situation, but this fails and the audience most likely silently cheer as he flees.
The chaos that ensues from the villagers’ plan is all encompassing, involving the characters in non-stop scenes of utter hilarity and originality. One standout scene was when Sir Drakeford was reading the decree to Mildreth, unspooling it and reading it slowly line by line in a totally matter-of -fact way. Meanwhile, Ethel, Gerd and Simple Thomas are in the background, in their own world creating the most ridiculous skits, yet being one hundred percent true to their characters, which made it even funnier. This was one of the cleverest ways of involving a lot of the cast onstage, separate yet together to create one unforgettably funny scene. Ryan Atkin’s script was witty, fast paced and engaging, eliciting clever wordplay to capture the audience and tickle their funny bone.
The costumes were period perfect, especially their medieval tunics, brown soft sole boots and hanging coin pouches, as were the props and the set. The end scene was outrageously messy, and the physicality of Simple Thomas’ actions had the whole audience “laughing their head off” which is my way of giving a nod to the Ryan’s Aldric who spent the majority of the play with his head and hands trapped as well as something else.
Although I could see that there was no one ‘main character’ as such, as each character was written with their own flair, Lachlan’s portrayal of loveable ‘village idiot’ Gerd was a standout. He managed to deliver many not so hidden innuendos with the innocence of the young, which added to the comedy.
It was no coincidence that A Kingdom of Fools was at the Sydney Winterfest Medieval Fair on the weekend before the play’s opening week at The Eternity Playhouse. It was a strategic stroke of genius, because putting your head and hands into a pillory for a photo opportunity was perhaps the best advertisement for this play. A hilarious comedy of Monty Python-esque proportions, A Kingdom of Fools gathered the audience into a medieval time machine and stepped us back to where the little people overthrow the powerful. I’ll fill my tankard with mead and drink to that!
A Kingdom of Fools is playing at The Eternity Playhouse. 39 Burton St, Darlinghurst
90 minutes
Season: 16 July – 26 July 2026
Tickets: www.events.humanitix.com/a-kingdom-of-fools
To book tickets to A Kingdom of Fools, please visit https://events.humanitix.com/a-kingdom-of-fools.
